Like a tight end with speed and good hands. Or better yet, two of them playing at the same time.

That's what the Patriots have in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. With two tight ends and two receivers in the game, the Patriots have the ability to send four receivers deep, or call a power run play without making personnel changes.

Orchestrating it all is Tom Brady, who might be the best quarterback of his generation.

Other than that, the Cardinals don't have much with which to contend this Sunday in New England.

"Those (tight ends) are involved in most every play: run, pass, pass patterns, protection," Belichick said Wednesday in a conference call with Arizona reporters. "It makes it harder for the defense to defend when you can run behind them or throw to them, get them down field as well as in shorter areas. A good, versatile tight end can present a lot of problems to the defense."

Gronkowski, a second-round pick in 2010 out of Arizona, set NFL records for tight ends last year in receiving yards (1,327) and touchdowns (18, including one rushing).

Hernandez, a fourth-round pick out of Florida in 2010, caught 79 passes a year ago for 910 yards and seven touchdowns.

New England isn't the only team with successful tight ends. The Saints' Jimmy Graham was third in the NFL in receptions last year with 99. The 49ers have Vernon Davis and the Chargers have Antonio Gates.

If a team is lucky, it has one elite tight end. No other team has a pair of receiving tight ends as talented as the Patriots.

The Cardinals believe they have threats in veteran Todd Heap and Rob Housler, who is in his second season. Jeff King excels as a blocker, but he's also made plays as a receiver for Arizona since signing a year ago.

"I think that teams are creating mismatches with those guys because of the size and speed," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "It puts stress on the defense. You line them up outside of a normal tight end alignment and you have to go about defending them, whether it's with a safety, with a linebacker, or with a defensive back.

"If you get the favorable matchup and your quarterback can exploit it, you have success with it. That's what you are seeing."

It's a reflection of the way the game has changed at the college level. Spread offenses are prevalent, and the role of a tight end has changed. They no longer always line up in the traditional way, next to a tackle. They are put in the slot, or spread wide as a receiver.

Heap, in his 12th season, has made a career out of doing that. The Cardinals hope that Housler, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, can develop as a threat.

"Absolutely, tight ends are more of athletes now," Gronkowski said. "They can go out, run, catch a ball and everything. They are coming out of college now ready to go."

As receivers, at least. Many of them still need work as blockers, and it's not always easy projecting how good a college tight end will be as a pro, Belichick said.

"That can't always be 100 percent based on what you see in college," he said. "That's fairly common for rookies, just what they do in college doesn't always straight line over to what happens in the NFL."